Materials such as paper or cloth which are manufactured in sheet-like webs are often provided with thickened edges which prevent the material from being torn or unraveled. However, in winding up such a material, if the thickened edges are allowed to register one on top of the other, the edges of the roll will have an appreciably larger diameter than the center of the roll which can result in wrinkling of the material or even buckling of the roll. In the prior art, in order to avoid registry of the edge portions, devices have been provided to oscillate the supply roll, to oscillate the takeup roll, and to oscillate an intermediate guide roll. The latter solution often proves to be best as oscillation of the supply or takeup rolls which can be quite heavy is not often easily or satisfactorily achieved.
One patent which discloses an apparatus wherein the cloth is fed directly from a loom to the takeup roll utilizing an intermediate oscillating guide roll is U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,154 which issued on Feb. 24, 1981 to William J. Alexander, III. In this device, the mounting shaft for the guide roll is slidably journaled in a bearing for transverse motion and driven in transverse or lateral oscillating motion by a worm gear powered crank.
It is one object of the present invention to eliminate any need for powered driving means to provide oscillating motion for a guide roll.
Another prior art oscillating guide roll is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,139 which issued on June 28, 1983, also to William J. Alexander, III. This guide roll is also power driven, but employs cam mechanisms within the roll adjacent each end thereof to provide the oscillating motion. In such prior art devices, driving chains or gears must be provided on the side of the loom or windup mechanism which are quite cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to install and maintain.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide an oscillating guide roll which can be simply installed, requires a minimum of space, and can be used either directly on a loom or in a separate rewind device.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an oscillating guide roll in which the oscillating means are enclosed and protected from clogging by dirt, lint, or debris.